Science: Flameout in Florida

After its big boom in Georgia, the U.S. space program ran afoul of a
fizzle in Florida. At Cape Kennedy the three liquid-fuel motors of an
Atlas-Centaur rocket ignited on schedule, but the missile that was
supposed to toss a dummy Surveyor (soft-landing vehicle) to the moon's
orbit, climbed only a few feet before a valve misfunctioned and the
rocket fell back on its pad. Thin-walled fuel tanks ruptured, and more
than 100 tons of liquid oxygen and kerosene burst into flames. The
hydrogen-burning second stage added tons of liquid hydrogen to the
holocaust. The 120-man launching crew dared not emerge...